Millennial Men Are Exerting Greater Influence in the Beauty Market

A sizable share of Millennial men have a skincare regimen – and many are likely to engage in online and offline conversations to influence others in their beauty product choices, according to a pair of new studies from YouGov and Engagement Labs.

The research from YouGov – based off the responses of more than 12,750 men – finds that at least one-third of men ages 18-49 use beauty products to make them look better.

Moreover, some 22% of men of all ages surveyed agree that they have a skincare regimen. That figure jumps to 29% among 18-34-year-olds, making them the most likely to have such a regimen, almost double the rate of men ages 50 and older (16%).

Millennial Men as Beauty Influencers?

Millennial men’s interest in beauty and skincare products is important for the industry, as separate research indicates that this group is highly influential in recommending brands.

In a new report [download page], Engagement Labs finds that men ages 25-39 are about 50% more likely than women of that age to be “Conversation Catalysts” (14% vs. 9%).

“Conversation Catalysts” are defined as “those who have large real-world social networks and frequently give advice about dozens of leading products and services. These key influencers have 19 conversations a day with other people about brands, including both online and face-to-face conversations. By contrast, the average American has just nine brand conversations per day. Their advice is highly valued and has four times as much impact as recommendations from average consumers.”

Notably, Millennial men are 69% more likely than men overall to be influencers in the beauty category, and 47% more likely to be influencers in the retail/apparel category. Brands such as Nivea and Palmolive are among those that they talk about far more frequently than other men.

In fact, the study finds that “Millennial men are almost as likely as their female peers to discuss beauty and apparel brands.”

Given that these young male influencers are frequently referencing brand marketing and advertising in their discussions, it seems important that beauty and apparel brands engage with this increasingly important demographic.

More details about Millennial mens’ influence can be found in the report, which is available for download here.